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New To Group, New to Contours, and have 2 questions

I poked around under the hood last nite, looking for any telltale signs of leaks, etc. Luckily, there was nothing. The engine compartment is cramped, but not as bad as some. I think if I pull the dash panel, move the radio to the right, lift the carpet mat, open the gas door, pull the glove box, deploy the airbag, and spin around 3 times on one foot, I can get to the thermostat.

Thanks guys.
 
if its a stock air intake just remove it. drain the coolant, remove the upper radiator hose from the thermostat housing, remove the 3 8mm bolts and then remove the thermostat. its real easy.
 
striker2 said:
actually the normal operating temp for an engine is near 200 degrees. when its below that the rings wear the cylinder walls faster than when its at operating temp. by putting in the 170 thermostat it takes longer for the engine to reach operating temp...
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FALSE

The lower temp t-stat has NOTHING to do with how long it takes the car to warm up. ZERO! When the car is cold, ALL t-stats will be closed. Only when the coolant reaches very near the temp range of the t-stat does it begin to open, which means the engine & coolant therein has now reached proper operating temperature range.

An engine has a normal operating RANGE. Most cars typically between 145 & 210. Higher temp ranges allow the engine to run slightly more clean for emissions requirements, that is all. Bring the temp down a few degrees and the engine will run slightly less clean & produce a tiny bit of extra power.

I run a 160 t-stat in all of my Contiques & Cougar, a 170 in the BMW. If we had emissions inspections here in Palm Beach County, I might run a higher factory temp if I was close to the pollution limits for my car.

96ContourGuy, the timing belt change for a '96 is fairly straight-forward. Get the Gates timing belt KIT for your car. It will include the appropriate tensioner pully & other hardware as well as the new belt. I've seen/read about too many idler & tensioner pullies going bad to even think about leaving the stockers in there.
 
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you do realize that in order for the car to go into closed loop mode you have to have time and TEMP. now i dont know the excat number for our cars but for every OBDII car it is above 145 probably closer to 170-180. the standard normal operating temp for any engine is somewhere between 190 and 210. it WILL reach those temps. all a lower temp thermostat does is starts circulating coolant through the radiator sooner which means it will take longer for all of the fluid to reach the 190-210 range. this longer duration in the colder range will increase cylinder wall wear. this then will eventually lead to less compression due to more blow-by and thus less power.

Only when the coolant reaches very near the temp range of the t-stat does it begin to open, which means the engine & coolant therein has now reached proper operating temperature range.
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NO
it means the coolant has reached the temp of the thermostat not necissarilly the proper operating range. so your 160 degree thermostat begins to open at ~160 degrees. thats still 30 degrees colder than operating temp. now you have to warm up all of the coolant an extra 30 degrees. with the standard 190 degree thermostat when it opens most of the coolant is already at operating temp and it then takes very little time for the rest of it to reach the same temp.

example: i have a 180* thermostat in my car (only cause its boosted). on my scan gauge i can watch the temp rise to 180* and then it drops back down to around ~160 as the coolant starts to circulate. it then takes a few more miles before the temp returns to 180* and then continues to rise and then settles AROUND 200*.


as i said prevously
stick with a 190 or unless your running boost (which i think im the only boosted zetec at the moment) and then you can go with a 180. if your worried about where the needle sits on the gauge replace the sending unit with a brand new part (not a junk yard one). if it still reads high then you can try a different gauge from a junkyard car (good excuse to add a tach if you dont have one)
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unless the gauge is reading in the red then your most likely okay. if you are concerned then buy, borrow, steal (not really) a scanner. plug it in and verify that it does get above 230. my gauge used to read between the "A" and the "L" but never got above 220. i replaced the temperature sending before i added the turbo and the 180* thermostat and it read between the "R" and the "M".

unless the thermostat is not opening there is no reason to replace it. i ran for almost 250,000 miles on a stock range thermostat and never once had a problem.

Bring the temp down a few degrees and the engine will run slightly less clean & produce a tiny bit of extra power.
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the only reason you might gain an extra horse (which you will never notice) is because its running richer. the only reason it runs richer is cause its in open loop and it has a set table for how much fuel to inject. however it will not run richer once it reaches closed loop, which it always will eventually.
 
i was actually looking at getting a lower stat guess it doesn't do me any good.
 
Wow. The debate continues, lol. I never really had any problems with any cooling system as far as a thermostat went - it's always been the ol' reliable GM waterpump that lasts 8 miles and dies, or the congealed Dexcool with the gasket eating compound already built in (now THERE'S a debate waiting to happen).... The coolant on the Contour looks a bit ratty so I'll flush it. Can't hurt to replace the thermostat either. I don't know the history of the car, so a little peace of mind is in order. It's in such good shape though, that I can't believe it wasn't serviced properly.

I'll grab the Gates kit and get to work, as soon as I can free up my garage.
Thanks guys.
Rick
 
I've said it before and I'll reiterate it now: A lower temp thermostat will not fix any cooling problem, other than one caused by the thermostat itself. If an engine/cooling system typically reaches a peak of 210, 230, whatever, it will still do so eventually no matter what thermostat you have in there. A thermostat merely restricts cooling in the first few minutes of operation and in extremely cold weather.

If your engine is truly overheating (and by that, i don't mean the gauge is reading hot, that means nothing), you probably have a clogged or bad radiator, a bad water pump, or some kind of restriction. It could even be air bubbles trapped in the hoses. Unless the thermostat is stuck closed, which is very rare, that would have no effect on operating temperature. You could remove the thermostat entirely (basically, a zero degree thermostat) and it would still eventually overheat if you have a problem.

Forget about thermostats, and address the real cooling problem, if there even is one. If you suspect it, take a temp reading at your upper radiator hose, and go from there.
 
after 244,000 miles i have never had a problem with the coolant jelling or anything. it gets rusty cause theres rust inside the system but that happens with every system.

cnewton44: the previous owner must have combined some of the dexcool stuff in with the regular green stuff. you do that and it is gauranteed to jell up
 
I have about 112,000miles or so, on my tour would it be recommended to do a flush?
 
striker2 said:
cnewton44: the previous owner must have combined some of the dexcool stuff in with the regular green stuff. you do that and it is gauranteed to jell up
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I dont know what the chick that owned it before me did.:shrug:
It was pretty black when I got it. I got it flushed and it was 100% better. Car ran way better.
 
i went out and took a good look at the hoses and stuff. they seem to be bulging not much but they are starting to. How hard i will it be to change all the hoses and how much coolant do i need to refill the system?
 
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mcgarvey said:
A lower temp thermostat will not fix any cooling problem, other than one caused by the thermostat itself.
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and if you read my original post about it, a lower temp thermostat was only recommended if he was replacing the thermostat anyway. i don't think anyone would argue that a lower thermostat would fix a cooling problem.
 
OK, bact to business.... Compression: 158, 155, 155, 155 +/- a psi or two; the glass on my tester is in pretty bad shape. Coolant temp 204, right after shutting it down. So, I didn't bother changing the t-stat. But, I was able to borrow a map and gps unit to find a heater hose, cut it, t'd it, and flushed the system, not using any chemicals. After refilling/running, etc., the guage is a bit better, BUT - the system did need a flush. Coolant was a greenish brown color, not too healthy.

I thank everyone for their help and advice. You guys are gonna turn me into a Ford guy... Now I have a question on tires, but I'll post a seperate thread.
Rick
 
great work. ill be doing that soon my self + changing all the hoses. should be a fun day.
 
pretty good stats. very nice that your compressions are all within 3 psi. if you're having visibility problems with the glass, just do what i do and smash it out! :D
 
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